Apparatus of the type useful for sequentially dispensing food items to be cooked to a cooking unit are well known in the art. Such apparatus have particular application in short-order vending operations, particularly coin-operated vending machines of the type employing an endless belt to convey dispensed raw food past a cooking element. Difficulties have been encountered, however, in the practical use of such apparatus, both with respect to the dispensing means and the endless belt systems employed to convey the food for cooking. Owing to the great variability in the physical characteristics of different foods, dispensing units have been typically restricted to dispensing only one type of foodstuff, characteristically hot dogs and accompanying buns. Even then, the nonuniform characteristics of the same type of foodstuff have resulted in irregular and unreliable operation of many prior art dispensers. Additionally, it has been necessary to develop specialized endless belt conveyor systems for use in conjunction with the cooking of specific foodstuffs, again owing to non-uniformity between different types of foods. Known conveyor systems for foods such as hot dogs are typically prone to result in a poorly cooked product, most usually overdone on one side and underdone on the opposite side. Frequently, it has been difficult to develop dispensing apparatus compatible with conveyor systems specifically designed for use with a certain type of foodstuff.
Accordingly, the invention provides an endless conveyor system for both food and non-food items, but particularly for conveying skewered raw food items past a cooking assembly and for manipulating the food during transport to insure proper cooking and a palatable product. Owing to the uniformity of the skewers employed, a wide variety of disparate food items can be reliably conveyed and manipulated, including many food items not previously adaptable to an automated system.